The network was formed following a meeting held at the S.A. Aviation Museum in March 2008. This meeting was attended by all the current members who decided that there was great benefit in the sharing of each others experiences and having a single avenue to project the objectives of all the museum members. Investigation of similar organisations such as the British Aircraft Preservation Council was carried out to find a form of organisation that allowed non profit – volunteer organisations to join together and further their common interest in aviation history.
In order to achieve the objectives it was decided to adopt membership of Museums Australia, the peak Museums body in Australia, as a mandatory standard for acceptance as a member. Membership of Museums Australia ensured that the ethics and standards set by this national organisation would become the goal of the Aviation Museums Network. Under the Museums Australia organisation, a network group was established and listed on Museums Australia’s website. Since its first meeting in Adelaide, meetings have been held in Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and the NT. Member Museums continue to strongly support the Annual Meetings and all members have gained by the exchange of knowledge and resources between the various museums.